London Calling
by Lil Drop Of Magic
Summary: Eleanor Waldorf has been invited to give a show at London Fashion Week. Blair is invited & her original choice of companion is Serena. But when S pulls out at the last minute, Chuck makes a surprising suggestion for who should go in her place 4.17spoilers
1. Being Selfless

Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Gossip Girl' world.

A/N Okay, so I'm a little surprised at this. I never thought I'd write a Gossip Girl (multi-chap) but I got an idea and just decided to go with it and see how it turns out.

This carries on from where 4x17 let off so if you don't what to be spoiled, stop reading!

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Chapter One: Being Selfless

"Oh, for crying out loud, Humphrey," Blair said, exasperated and pulled Dan towards her. Their lips met and a shiver ran down her spine that was mostly thrilling and just a tiny bit disconcerting. Kissing Dan Humphrey wasn't supposed to feel this good. His lips were moving softly against hers, exuding just the right amount of pressure and his hand was leaving goosebumps on her skin as it softly stroked her upper arm. She pulled away while she still had control of her senses and stared at the Brooklyn boy in shock.

She'd had the thought a couple of times the last few weeks but, really, this couldn't _possibly_ be her life. Blair Waldorf was not supposed to have feelings for Dan Humphrey.

Dan's eyes were wide as he struggled to remember any of words from the English language.

"See? Nothing between us," Blair weakly mumbled, removing her hands from his coat.

Dan blinked at her in surprise. "Blair," he began but she interrupted him.

"Right, off you go, back to Brooklyn then." She intoned, making shooing motions with her hands.

"Blair," he tried again.

"It's been quite a long and distressing day, Humphrey, I'd like to retire for the night, if you don't mind. _Not_ that you have any say in the matter," she stressed.

She put a hand on his arm to try and force him back to the elevator but jumped when he placed his hand against her cheek. "Blair, look me in the eye and tell me you didn't feel anything," he demanded.

She resisted the (unexpectedly) strong urge to lean into his hand and forced herself to meet his gaze. Her mouth opened, fully determined to tell him that she hadn't felt anything but revulsion, but the words died in her throat. "I…felt something," she whispered.

Dan nodded slightly, his thumb moving softly over her cheek. She shut her eyes at the tenderness. No one had ever treated her so gently in her entire life and she didn't appreciate the feelings it created in her chest.

"What do we do now?" Dan wondered, his words breaking her back to reality.

She sighed and stood back from his touch, her skin instantly going cold from the lack of contact. "What we were going to do before."

Dan's forehead creased in confusion. "You mean we go back to _not_ being friends?" She nodded. "Blair, I don't think I can do that."

"Of course you can, Humphrey. We're doing this for my best friend and your family, remember? We just won't see each other as much for the next few weeks." Blair instructed.

"But,"

"Humphrey!" Blair snapped. "We thought that admitting that we sometimes spend time together would shock and appal our friends. Imagine how they'll react when they find out that there's the possibility for something more between us. That's the _last_ thing that Serena and her family need right now."

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when Blair Waldorf gave me a lesson in selflessness." He muttered, a smile pulling at his lips.

"All things considered I think that's one of the least startling things that have occurred this evening." Blair replied, unable to deny him a small smile in return.

"So are we acting like we hate each other or is there some neutrality between us." Dan enquired.

"Neutrality. We haven't openly despised each other for a while and we want to make our performance believable, remember."

Dan smiled. "Right, neutrality, good." He sighed. "I suppose I'd better leave then, before someone spots us together. Goodnight, Blair."

"Goodnight, Humphrey." She replied and before she had time to react he kissed her cheek and walked back towards the elevators.

"That's not neutrality!" She cried, her cheek tingling slightly. "That was open affection and you'd do well to avoid a repetition of anything similar if you don't want us to be found out."

Dan fixed her with a look that made her heart beat faster. How was it possible that she now found Humphrey so physically appealing after just one kiss?

"I'll see you around, Blair," Dan called as he stepped into the elevator and the doors closed.

Blair glanced around the penthouse, suddenly feeling incredibly alone. She wished she had someone to talk to about this, _Humphrey_ thing, but there was absolutely no one who wouldn't judge her or be somehow connected with Dan. She stood still for a few minutes, just thinking through the events of the evening, focusing particularly on her encounter with Humphrey and how unexpectedly amazing their kiss had been.

The elevator doors opened again and Blair felt certain that it was going to be Humphrey again. She wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.

When she saw that it was just Serena she sighed in relief but then she froze slightly as Chuck Bass exited from the elevator too.

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A/N Yes, it's a little short but this was just to finish things off between Dan and Blair in the scene from 4x17.

We'll get more into the overall plot next chapter.

What did you guys think of the episode? I was quite happy with it because a part of me just really didn't think they were going to kiss. But we got one! Well, half of one…

The rest of the stuff I was only vaguely interested in. GG has become all about Dair for me right now. I cannot get enough of them!

Anyway, let me know what you think!

Lots of Love,

Lil Drop of Magic

xXx


	2. A Problem

Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Gossip Girl' world/

A/N Hey everyone! Thank you to all those who reviewed and added the story to their favourites and/or alerts. It means a lot to me.

Now, on with the story!

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Chapter Two : A Problem

"Chuck! What are you doing here?" Blair asked in surprise. She thought he'd still be celebrating the deal that was due to be signed tomorrow morning, either that or lending Lily support.

"You're the only one who'll understand," Chuck mumbled as he walked towards her. He looked unkempt and Blair could detect a slight slur in his speech. Chuck was obviously more than a little bit intoxicated as it normally took him a large quantity of alcohol to exhibit these symptoms.

"What's happened?" Blair directed the question more at Serena than Chuck.

"My father lied to me," Chuck hissed and Blair's heart wrenched at the despair on his face. "My _whole life_ he was lying to me."

"Chuck you know that your father loved you. He may not have been a saint but which of us can claim to have lived such a life?" Blair explained softly. Part of her wanted to offer some physical comfort but for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"My Dad convinced my mother that she was seriously ill," Serena pointed out but Chuck shook his head and let out a dark chuckle.

"You don't know what he's done," He said darkly before adding in a voice barely above a whisper. "Raina…"

Blair felt herself stiffen. How dare he come round here seeking her support and mention the name of the girl he was currently pining after. How inconsiderate of him. How very _Chuck Bass_.

"Chuck, I'm more than willing to listen to your woes," Blair began, giving him a sympathetic smile before dropping it, "in the morning, when you have sobered up." Chuck opened his mouth but Blair cut across him. "How's Lily?" she asked her best friend.

"She's still with the DA, I guess" Serena replied, shrugging. "We're hoping she'll get bail but I haven't heard anything since she and Rufus left."

"I want you to know that you have my full support in this matter so if there's anything you need me to do, just let me know." Serena flashed her a grateful smile.

"Thanks, B. It's been a hell of a night, so I think I'll head upstairs and wait to hear from my mom."

"I think that's a commendable idea, S. One that we all should all follow." Blair gave Chuck a pointed look. "Is your car still waiting for you downstairs to take you home?"

"Nate and Raina will be there," he mumbled and Blair refrained from rolling her eyes. She was pretty sure that she still loved Chuck and a part of her always would but she was beginning to feel rather fed up at the way he treated her. She knew that he felt more connected to her than most other people and she had been the one he turned to when dealing with issues with his father. But he must be unaware (or else didn't care) that she found it acutely painful to hear about him being so open, caring and loving with another person when he had found it so difficult to be the same way with her. He just took and took from Blair and never gave her anything in return.

And then, barely a quarter of an hour since she had experienced something…new (she was reluctant to label it romantic) for the first time in some months Chuck Bass appears like a ghost of boyfriends past, never letting her move on. How ironic and completely unfair.

She had half a mind to tell Chuck to suck it up and go home. It wasn't as though Chuck hadn't done the same to Nate before (…with her) but if she made him leave he'd probably go to another bar and get into some sort of harm and she just couldn't have that on her conscience. But if he thought he was staying in _her_ bed then he had another think coming. She doubted he wanted physical _intimacy_, just someone to comfort him, yet, either way, she wasn't going to give that to him.

Blair sighed. "Come on then. I'll take you to the guest room."

She saw a questioning look in his eyes but he obviously got the message that her room was off limits because he said nothing.

The three friends walked in silence, each stuck in their own thoughts from the events of the evening. Blair opened the door to the guest room for Chuck and closed it as soon as he'd crossed the boundary into the room so she wouldn't have to talk to him. Serena raised her eyebrows at Blair's actions but the brunette simply shrugged. "He needs to sleep off his alcohol consumption," she explained sweetly.

She stalked off to her door before remembering that her best friend was going through a tough time. She turned, "We can wait to hear from Lily together, if you like?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Mini-sleepover?"

"Are you sure Ben won't mind?" Blair teased but her smile fell as the expression on Serena's face changed. "Oh no, what happened?"

"We broke up," Serena sighed. "He felt that he couldn't move on from his time in prison while he's still around me."

Blair gave her friend a sympathetic look but really, she thought that the dissolution of Serena and Ben's partnership was for the best. There was too much bad history between the two families and there was something just wrong about the relationship due to what (or whom) Ben had gone to prison for, even if it had been a false conviction.

"Okay, give me a couple of minutes to get ready and then I'll be with you," Blair said and Serena nodded.

As she entered her room the first thing Blair noticed was the large suitcase lying on her bed. Of course! She was due to be leaving for London tomorrow night. Her mother had been invited by the organisers of London Fashion week to do a catwalk show for them. Eleanor was very excited (and stressed) about it as it was the first time she had been invited to the British capital's fashion event.

It had not taken much persuasion for Blair to convince her mother to let her come too and Eleanor had been kind enough to let her daughter bring a companion. Blair had, of course, invited Serena and the two friends had been looking forward to the trip for weeks.

But now that Lily was facing criminal charges Blair didn't think that Serena would _quite_ be in the mood.

She changed quickly and knocked lightly on Serena's door. "Come in," the blonde called.

Serena was lying flat on the bed, staring miserably up at the ceiling when Blair entered. She sat next to Serena on the bed. "I'll let my mother know about London in the morning."

Serena frowned and then comprehension dawned on her face. "Oh, Blair! I'm sorry, I forgot. You don't mind if I don't go, do you? It's just with my Mom,"

"Of course I don't mind," Blair interrupted. "I assumed that you would rather stay in New York. It's okay. We can go to London another time."

"Wait. You're not going either?" Serena asked and Blair shook her head. "B, no! You have to go."

"No, you need me here." Blair explained.

"It's only for a few days, Blair, I'll be okay without you. You've been looking forward to this for ages."

"Right, and be all alone in London while my mother freaks out about her show?" Blair scoffed. "How lovely."

"Take someone else with you, then," Serena suggested.

"Who?" Blair asked.

"I don't know, one of your minions?"

Blair wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I wouldn't be able to last the ride to the airport with a minion let alone a few days in London!"

"You could always have them locked up in the tower!" Serena proposed with a smile but Blair sent her a withering look. "Well there must be someone good enough to take my place." She joked.

A name flashed in Blair's mind but she dismissed it instantly. Although she would probably have quite a cultural and enjoyable time if she invited Humphrey to London with her, that was _not _a neutral thing to do. And besides, he would probably loathe all the fashion aspects of the trip even if he hadn't been totally awful in his time at 'W'.

"_No one_ can replace you," Blair informed her loftily.

"Fine, but you're _still_ going." Serena insisted.

Blair sighed. At least it would be easier to be neutral towards Humphrey when she was on the other side of the Atlantic.

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A/N Hope you liked it. The next chapter will be from Dan's pov.

Hope to hear from you!

Lots of Love,

Lil Drop of Magic

xXx


	3. An Unexpected Solution

Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Gossip Girl' world.

A/N Hi guys. Thank you all so much for the reviews, favourites and alerts! Every single one makes me smile! :-D

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Chapter Three : An Unexpected Solution

Dan took a sip of his coffee, grateful for the caffeine kick it was going to give him. He hadn't had the best night's sleep and he felt terrible about it because while he should've had a restless night due to his concern about Lily's future, what he'd actually spent ninety per cent of his evening doing was thinking about Blair Waldorf. (Yes, _Blair Waldorf._ The girl who'd made his and his sister's lives extremely uncomfortable for the last few years.) He'd been thinking of her and not in a negative way like he normally did.

No, he was thinking about how he actually quite _liked_ Blair Waldorf and how he liked her in a variety of ways – such as their shared interests, her ability to converse with him on an assortment of subjects, her fierce loyalty towards her friends and, though he knew physical appearance wasn't everything, Blair was, and always had been, utterly beautiful.

Sure, on a fair few occasions she could be spoilt and vindictive but if you put her in the right company then she really wasn't that bad.

Of course, all this time spent thinking of Blair was mostly pointless seeing as they'd decided not to act on their feelings. It sucked, but it was the right thing to do in the current situation. Dan hoped the one day, in the not too distant future, things would settle down and he and Blair would be able to just see if there was a chance they could be more to each other than somewhat reluctant acquaintances.

He was on his way to Lily and his Dad's for one of the Upper East Side's favourite meals; brunch. Lily had been released earlier that morning on bail and Rufus had suggested that Dan come and join the family for the food, though Dan doubted anyone would be particularly hungry.

He drained his coffee and then discarded it before entering the building. He raised a hand in greeting to Vanya who was talking to an elderly gentleman before catching the elevator. In no time at all he found himself tucking into croissants with Eric, Lily and Rufus, another steaming cup of coffee not too far away. He'd awkwardly offered his support to Lily, unsure of how exactly to word things. He was glad that she'd decided to come forward about the affidavit because it was unfair for Ben to have the conviction haunting him for the rest of his life but, of course, he wasn't happy at the prospect of Lily going to jail – it would hit Rufus, Serena and Eric so hard.

The conversation was stilted and uncomfortable and everyone looked rather haggard so he was relieved to hear the sound of high heels clicking their way towards them as he assumed it would be Serena.

It was. Although she had brought Chuck and Blair with her. His heartbeat quickened at the sight of the brunette and he unconsciously sat up straighter. He only became aware that he was staring at Blair when she met his gaze and narrowed her eyes at him. He heard a voice in his head that sounded exactly like her, snapping 'neutrality, Humphrey!' and he tore his gaze away from her.

The conversation carried on around him and Dan made infrequent contributions because he just couldn't keep his mind on track. His thoughts and eyes kept drifting towards the brunette sitting across the table from him.

He'd caught Blair looking at him a couple of times too so at least he knew that he wasn't alone in getting distracted by whatever the hell this was between them. She'd glare at him and then quickly move her eyes away but he would see a slight tinge to her cheeks.

Once the meal had been consumed, or rather when people had stopped eating (because they never seemed able to run out of food in this place), Lily stood up and thanked everyone for coming. Blair stood too and offered her best friend's mother a hug. "As I said before, Lily; if there's anything I or the rest of my family can do then please just name it."

"Thank you, Blair." Lily replied warmly. "Do you need to leave?"

"Yes, the joys of packing await." Blair trilled with more than a hint of sarcasm and Dan's brow creased in surprised.

"You're going away?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Her face tightened as she looked in his direction. "Yes."

"Anywhere nice?" Rufus asked politely.

"London, for a few days."

"Oh of course, it's Eleanor's debut at Fashion Week," Lily nodded then looked at Serena. "I thought you were supposed to be going too."

"I wanted to stay here with you, Mom," Serena explained reaching out for her mother's hand. Lily looked very touched but Dan was wondering why Blair hadn't told him that she was going to London. That was the sort of thing you told people wasn't it? Even if those two people weren't actually friends.

"So you're going to London on your own?" Chuck asked in disbelief and Blair frowned at him.

"I've been to places on my own before," she stated matter-of-factly, a hand on her hip.

"Why don't you ask someone else to accompany you?" Lily enquired.

Blair flushed and shook her head slightly. "It's not worth the effort," she muttered but Dan could tell that that wasn't the reason and he realised that Blair probably didn't have any other friends that could suitably take Serena's place. He felt sorry for her; that she didn't have many friends. He wasn't exactly 'lonely boy' anymore but it seemed that Blair possibly qualified as 'lonely girl'.

"Humphrey, maybe you should go with her," said the calculating voice of Chuck Bass and every single person present turned to stare at him.

"You're joking, right," Dan said at the same time that Blair shrilly asked, "Why would I want him to come with me?" For one absurd moment Dan thought that Chuck knew about what had happened between him and Blair last night but he didn't see how that was possible and he had a feeling that Chuck would've punched him by now if he did know (not that Chuck had any say in what Dan and Blair did in their free time.).

Chuck gazed calmly back at them all. "You _briefly_ worked at 'W' didn't you? Well, before you got fired. You must have some interest in fashion." Dan frowned, he _really_ didn't have much of an interest in fashion. He just didn't seem to be able to avoid it given his sister, his ex-girlfriend and where he lived. However Chuck wasn't waiting for a reply. "It's not like you're needed round here for the next few days, anyway." Chuck told him and Dan was about to make an angry reply but the other boy looked towards Blair, "and then you'll have someone to carry your bags."

"Charles," Lily said, warningly.

"They hate each other," Serena pointed out to her adopted brother.

"Oh, hate's a strong word," Dan said dismissively.

"Neutral," Blair put in quickly and then cleared her throat. "I would describe our relationship as neutral. We neither hate nor… particularly like each other."

Dan tried to avoid everyone's gaze as they looked at himself and Blair curiously. "But, ah, I don't think me going to London with Blair is a particularly good idea."

"We have nothing in common," Blair confirmed, repeating her words from the previous night.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Eric put in. "You've both got an appreciation of the more classical aspects of life and you'll get plenty of that in London. I mean, you're not going to spend the whole time at Fashion Week are you?" he asked Blair.

"Well…no." Blair glanced briefly at him. He hadn't for a single second even considered the possibility of himself going to London with Blair when he found out she was travelling alone. Sure, it was a city that he'd always wanted to visit but going with Blair? Up until a few weeks ago he'd consider that as the worst vacation ever, however, now that he knew her a little better he had to admit that they'd probably have an interesting trip together – as long as she didn't make him visit every designer shop in the city. As their eyes met he tried to gauge whether _she_ would want him as company but her expression didn't make him any wiser. Besides, he couldn't just go swanning off to London when his family was going through a tough time.

"Look, it's nice and somewhat bizarre of you to suggest me," Dan said, giving Chuck a suspicious look, before turning to Lily "but I really can't abandon you right now."

"Daniel, do you want to go to London?" Lily asked simply.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll go there one day. Besides, Blair hasn't even invited me."

Everyone turned to look at the brunette, who shifted her weight under everyone's gaze. "I suppose you're better than no one, Humphrey," she admitted reluctantly.

"If the last twenty four hours have taught me anything," Lily said to them all, "it's that you have to make the most of what life has to give you. I took someone's right to live their life to the fullest away from them and I'll never forgive myself for it. Daniel, I'm grateful to you, to all of you, that I have your support when I don't necessarily deserve it but I'm confident I'll be able to get through the next few days without you." Lily squeezed his hand and a sliver of excitement settled in his stomach at the thought that this trip to London might actually happen.

"You're sure?" he asked. Lily nodded so he turned his gaze to his Dad. Rufus was looking between himself and Blair curiously and Dan sincerely hoped that his father hadn't put two and two together about the person he was hanging out with in secret.

"Dad?"

"If it's okay with Lily then it's okay with me." Rufus shrugged.

Finally Dan turned to Serena, confusion showing on her face. "I can't believe I'm saying this but, yeah, go to London with Blair. However, I expect both of you to come back alive, with no injuries caused by the other person." She said half seriously.

So, it was agreed all round. However unbelievable it may have seemed fifteen minutes beforehand; Dan and Blair were to go to London together.

And they were both secretly very happy about it.

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A/N So I'm sure that came as a surprise to nobody! I've had to push London Fashion Week back a couple of weeks to make it fit into the GG timeline. Just a little note that there's more to Chuck's suggestion of Dan than meets the eye… but you'll find out more about that later on.

I like to take a lot of input and suggestions from people in my stories so if there's anywhere in London (or England in general because they can take a day trip somewhere, I suppose) that you would like to see Dan and Blair visit then please let me know I'll see which ones fit in with the story I'm trying to tell.

Not sure when the next update will be as somewhat ironically, while Dan and Blair will be travelling to my city, tomorrow I'm going to be visiting theirs! Yes, I'm off to New York for a few days! SO excited!

Anyway, I actually need to go and pack so please let me know if you liked the chapter and of any suggestions you might have regarding London.

Love,

Lil Drop of Magic

xXx


	4. Goodbye, New York

Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Gossip Girl' world.

A/N Yeah, so I've been gone for months. I'm sorry about that but my enthusiasm went for this story for a while and I'm not entirely sure why. It feels so weird to be writing this story when so much has happened on the show but my love of Dair hasn't died (and hopefully never will! Seriously, they're SO cute).

Thank you to all those who added this story to their alerts and/or favourites and especially to those who reviewed even after I hadn't updated in a few months. This chapter's for you!

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Chapter Four : Goodbye, New York

"Don't trouble yourself with helping him with his luggage," Blair called forward to the driver as the passenger window lowered to reveal Dan Humphrey standing with a suitcase on the Brooklyn sidewalk.

"Hey, I heard that," Dan said frowning.

Blair blinked innocently. "You only have one suitcase, Humphrey, I'm sure you can manage to lift that into the boot of the vehicle."

"Right. And it has nothing to do with me living on this side of the river or my lack of a trust fund?" Dan asked dryly.

"Really, Humphrey, how cynical of you." She replied, shaking her head slightly. "Just put your luggage away so we can be on our way. I'm quite sure that any time I spend in Brooklyn is detrimental to my health." She tried to ignore the recent images that flashed through her mind of the amount of time she had willingly spent in this area of New York…and with whom.

Dan disappeared from view and she waited rather impatiently for him to join her in the car. What was taking him so long?

After a few more seconds the adjacent door opened and Dan settled into the seat next to her, looking slightly flustered. "Blair, remind me again how long we're going to be in London for?"

"Eight days." She replied, slightly surprised that he'd already forgotten.

"Just eight; not eighteen or eighty?"

She pursed her lips. "Just eight."

"Then why have you packed _three_ large suitcases? I could barely get my _one__medium_ case in!"

Blair sent a withering glance in his direction. "We're going to London's Fashion Week, Humphrey. I need a variety of outfits to wear. The eyes of the fashion world aren't only on what's being displayed on the catwalk but also on the guests. I need to make sure I have plenty of options."

"Oh, good. I can't wait to hang about while you change your outfit ten times a day."

Blair smiled slightly at the joking tone in his voice. "I'm glad I invited you then, Humphrey." Despite the teasing nature she spoke in, she still felt her cheeks grow warm as Dan glanced at her amiably. She wished she hadn't said that.

"I'm glad you invited me too, Waldorf. Although you seemed to need some persuasion from everyone else."

"Excuse me, but I was following the guidelines that we set for ourselves. They would have found it strange if I readily agreed to go to another continent with you." She explained.

Dan raised an eyebrow and gave her an odd, satisfied smile. "_'__Readily_agreed.' I'm touched, Blair."

She pushed him slightly further away from her. "Yes, you get to carry my bags like Chuck said, remember?"

Dan frowned and the playful atmosphere vanished instantly at the name of Chuck. She decided it would be best not to mention his name much throughout their time together. Dan and Chuck had never got on and it wouldn't be good to talk about her ex-boyfriend with…well…she wasn't quite sure what to label Dan as at the moment. As someone who liked to have answers, Blair decided to address to problem immediately.

"I think we should drop the neutrality clause while we're away from New York." She proposed. "It seems pointless when the only person who'll know us in London is my mother and she'll be far too busy to notice anything different in the way we act towards each other."

Dan seemed to consider her words for a second. "Are we just going to drop the neutrality clause?" he asked cautiously.

Blair felt her cheeks heat up, aware that he was suggesting that they further explore what had happened last night. Part of her was severely tempted – she'd been short of some romance in her life for quite a while now. But… "It's only eight days, Humphrey and then we'll be back in New York, back to our normal lives. We'd have to completely close whatever we'd opened ourselves up to." It made her feel cold-hearted to say it and she hoped that Dan could hear the reluctance in her voice.

He nodded. "I understand. I think just being your friend is going to be more than enough strangeness for me to cope with right now."

She mock-gasped. "Are you calling me _strange_, Humphrey?"

He chuckled. "Possibly."

She smiled, glad that the slightly awkward conversation they'd just had hadn't affected their banter.

They passed the rest of their ride to the airport with minimal conversation. It was becoming slightly late in the day and they'd both slept poorly the evening before.

Once they arrived the driver piled Blair's three cases onto a trolley and perched Dan's smaller one on top. Then they set off to the first class check in.

"Where's the private jet?" Dan teased. "I thought we were going to be travelling to London in style."

Blair sighed. "Have you ever flown first class before, Humphrey?"

"No."

She nodded. "I think that's far enough for you for now. We don't want you getting ideas too far above your station, do we." He manoeuvred the trolley in her direction and she had to jump out of the way to stop her Louboutin shoes from being run over.

The flight attendant behind the desk was suitably charming and their luggage was soon on its meandering way to their plane.

"So, do you want to check out the duty free once we get through security; you could pick up some bargains?" Dan suggested, dumping his carry-on luggage in a plastic box.

Blair paused in the removal of her jewellery. "_Why_ would I shop at duty free when I can easily afford to buy the full price ten times over? How would that look if it went on Gossip Girl?" She scoffed.

"I'm sorry for suggesting that you could benefit from saving money, Blair. I forget that your monetary funds are practically limitless." Dan remarked. He walked through the metal detector, Blair following shortly afterwards.

"If my funds were practically limitless we'd be flying private, believe me." She replied, slipping her shoes back on.

"So you want to go straight to the first class lounge?" Dan asked.

"Of course."

He sighed. "Well, you did invite me along. I suppose I'll let you have your way this time."

Blair smiled. "Humphrey, if you agreed to come on this vacation with me, then you're going to have to get used to me _always_ having my way."

Dan cocked his head slightly. "Well, lead on then, Princess," he said refusing to rise to the bait.

Blair breathed a sigh of relief upon entering the lounge – finally feeling somewhat more at home. She and Dan had found seats and a waiter had taken their order when their phones beeped simultaneously.

That was hardly ever a good sign.

Sure enough Blair saw a picture of herself and Dan arriving at the airport together headlining the latest Gossip Girl blast.

"Oh, great," Dan muttered, skimming over the post. "And she's asked all her followers outside of New York to look out for us to let her know where we are. Do you have any idea of her international status? We're not going to have teenage girls in London snapping shots of us with their phones are we?"

"I'm sure it's not anywhere near the level of interest here and if the odd photo does turn up on Gossip Girl then there's nothing strange about it for us. Our friends know that we're coming here platonically and as long as we're not caught doing anything to jeopardise that there should be nothing to worry about. I'm sure she'll find out where we're going though – she always does." Blair sighed. She should be used to Gossip Girl interfering with her life by now.

Their drinks were brought over and they started to talk about their plans for the days ahead. "So, just to be clear, are you only expecting to go to the fashion shows and shop all week?" Dan asked.

"What else is there, Humphrey?" Blair scoffed, although she only half meant it.

"Er, how about a ton of museums, galleries and exhibitions? All the castles, palaces and monuments? The theatres? The parks? The churches? – "

"Why would I want to go to a church?"

"Westminster Abbey is nearly a _thousand_ years old, Blair. That's just mind-blowing to me. And lots of royal things happen there; weddings, coronations, that sort of thing." Dan explained.

Blair felt a thrill run through her as she listened to the passion in Dan's voice. It would be nice to go to a city with someone who had some of the interests she did rather than someone who was more interested in the good-looking waiter. "I suppose I can be open to negotiations." She said loftily and Dan grinned.

"Good." He replied and he pulled out a travel guide to London from his hand luggage. "I picked this up on the way to pack my stuff. Maybe we could look through it and pick out some things we definitely want to see."

Blair nearly rolled her eyes at his organised enthusiasm but she decided that it was cute so she moved round so that she could see more clearly.

* * *

An hour later they were called to their departure gate, still deep in discussion (re: arguing) over their trip. "Humphrey there is no way that I'm getting on their version of the subway. Those things are just crawling with germs and criminals. Not to mention that 'riding the tube' sounds like a not so subtle euphemism." Blair pointed out as they walked to the gate.

"Have you _ever_ ridden the subway?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why would I have a need to?"

"Well if not the underground then can we go on one of those double floor buses?" Dan suggested. "I've always wanted to sit on the top of one of those."

"_No__public__transport,_Humphrey." Blair stressed.

Being first class passengers they were quickly allowed to board the plan upon arriving at the gate. Blair could tell that Dan was impressed with the luxuries afforded to this class of flying.

"This seat is like part-chair part-bed," he said bemused and Blair couldn't stop her eyes from rolling this time. "Cool, we get free bottled water." He continued and she drowned his childlike excitement out as she stored her luggage and made herself comfortable in her seat. They were separated by a partition but Blair could see him clearly if she sat up straight. He was now flicking through the in-flight magazine, looking at the audio and visual services available.

"I know we watched 'The King's Speech' a couple of weeks ago but I think I'm going to watch it again, get me in the mood for London. Oh, and they've got a documentary on Oscar Wilde. That could be interesting."

"Don't get carried away, Humphrey." Blair warned. "There's a five hour time difference between here and London. Over there it's already half one in the morning and when we arrive it'll be about ten o'clock in the morning. Don't stay up the whole flight watching films because there's no way I'm putting up with you whining about being tired tomorrow."

Dan waved her off. "I'll be fine."

Things sped up pretty quickly after that: the stewards made sure all the luggage was stored, they watched the safety videos, the plane was at the top of the runway and then they were off.

Blair leafed through the Fashion Week preview her mother had faxed over to her and sipped on a small glass of white wine. When she was finished with both she changed her watch to UK time; as far as she was concerned it was now two-thirty in the morning. Definitely time to get some sleep. She glanced over at Humphrey's screen – Colin Firth hadn't even met Geoffrey Rush yet. There was still a long way to go before that film was finished. She considered trying to convince Dan to go to sleep too but she knew he wouldn't listen to her.

She turned off the lights above her seat, pulled her eye mask down and tried to sleep, knowing that Dan was just a few inches away from her.

* * *

A/N And they're off! Next chapter – touch down in London.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Reviews are very much wanted and appreciated! :-)

Hopefully an update will be fairly imminent.

Thanks for reading,

Lil Drop of Magic

xXxXx


	5. Hello, London

Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Gossip Girl' world.

A/N See? This wait was minute compared to the previous one!

Seriously, though. Thank you to all those who checked this story out again after the big gap in update. Particularly those who alerted/favourite/reviewed.

I'd just like to point out that I don't actually know what happens to first class passengers on a flight like this; whether they get the luggage collected for them, if they exit from a separate arrivals place? Unfortunately it's not my area of expertise :-(

* * *

Chapter Five : Hello, London

"London, baby! Yeah!" Dan said as the plane touched down on the runway. This would've sounded much more effective if he hadn't yawned _twice_ whilst saying it. Blair gave him an amused and slightly superior glance. "I told you, I'm not even tired." He defended. That wasn't strictly true – he'd only managed to get about three hours sleep before they had started serving breakfast. Dan had had his fair share of impressive breakfasts when visiting Lily and his Dad but he was surprised that such quality could be achieved flying over the Atlantic. Yes, he was tired, but the adrenaline of being in a new country was more than enough to keep him going.

The sounds of seatbelts unclicking and overhead lockers being opened erupted all around him as the plane met with its gate. Dan followed suit, eager to be off the plane and out exploring this new city.

"How are we getting to the hotel?" Dan asked.

"A car will be waiting for us," Blair replied, delicately hoisting her purse onto her shoulder. She looked as though she'd had a perfect night's rest in a luxury hotel suite rather than on a plane. How did she manage to look so beautiful all the time? He knew he probably looked awful but he didn't care – he was too excited.

They were soon walking through the airport terminal and Dan was glad to stretch his legs even though he'd had much more room than if he'd been in economy. Getting through immigration and picking up their luggage was surprisingly easy and before Dan knew it he and Blair were being whisked away from Heathrow towards central London.

"It feels so weird to be driving on the other side of the road." He commented as he peered out of the window.

Blair raised an eyebrow. "You're not even behind the wheel, Humphrey," she scoffed. "Being chauffeured in London doesn't feel that different to anywhere else if you ask me."

Dan ignored her lack of enthusiasm and took out his travel guide to London. Using the GPS on his phone he worked out which road they were taking on the map and rifled through the pages to see if any famous sites were coming up.

"Are we going to meet your mother first or drop off our luggage?" Dan enquired so that he could see their route in its entirety.

"Apartment first." Blair replied, looking up from those Fashion Week notes she had.

"What's the address?"

Blair sighed dramatically, emphasising how annoying she found him as she pulled out her phone. "Catherine Place, SW1E 6DY."

Dan typed the address into his phone and then his mouth dropped open. "Blair, that's like a couple of streets away from Buckingham Palace!"

Blair's eyes snapped to his for a heartbeat and then she grabbed his phone. He smiled at the genuine look of surprise and excitement on her face before she schooled it into something more passive and handed him his cell back. "So it is."

He rolled his eyes. "Blair, come on, this is me. I know you think this is as cool as I do – you're allowed to show it."

She maintained her expression for a few more seconds and then she relented into a broad smile, her eyes sparkling. "I can't believe Mother didn't tell me how close I was going to be to Prince William and Prince Harry!"

"Hey, now, you're not going to try and wreck the royal wedding, are you?" Dan asked, half-joking.

Blair just smiled wider.

"I thought you'd had enough of posh British guys after all that stuff with that Lord guy a couple of years ago." Dan pointed out.

She wrinkled her nose slightly. "Lord Marcus was aristocracy, _royalty_ is something quite different."

"Blair…" Dan began, completely unsure whether she was serious or not. He wouldn't put it past her to go after one of the Queen of England's grandsons.

She sighed. "Fine, I won't go after William but as far as I'm concerned Harry is completely up for grabs."

Dan laughed. "Fine, we'll call round Buckingham Palace and see if they're in."

"They don't live at Buckingham Palace."

"But you just said you'd be so close to them." Dan pointed out, confused.

"They live a little further down The Mall at Clarence House." She supplied. "I know the residences of most eligible princes around the world."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Why doesn't that surprise me at _all?_" he muttered.

They fell into a comfortable silence – Blair continuing to look through her notes on the Fashion Week and Dan looking through his guide to London. There was so much that he wanted to see – he didn't know how he was going to fit everything in before they went back to New York in a few days. One thing was for sure; he was only going to be attending the Fashion Week once at the very most. He had to make the most of his time here and sitting in a dark room watching models walk back and forth (although slightly appealing) was not how he'd pictured visiting London would be.

He looked out of the window and checked their movements on his phone's GPS – they were getting close to central London. He was extremely grateful that he had GPS on his phone because he was sure he was going to get very lost here – it wasn't like cities in the States that were logically laid out. No, nobody had planned out London; it just grew as it needed to over the centuries.

According to the combined information from his phone and his travel guide the first major landmark would be the Natural History Museum but they'd have to travel through places like Hammersmith, Kensington and Earl's Court first – names he'd heard of but didn't really know why.

"I think that's the Natural History Museum," Dan pointed out as they drove past an impressive looking stone building. Blair briefly glanced up from her notes. "Do you want to visit it while we're here?"

"Why? We've got one of those in New York." Came her blunt reply.

"I know but they're not going to have the same exhibits and relics are they?"

Blair gave a non-committal shrug and carried on reading. Dan sighed. Maybe coming to London with Blair during _Fashion_ week wasn't the best idea, after all. He doubted she'd let him take her anywhere that didn't have something to do with a designer and it wasn't as though he couldn't cope with going somewhere on his own it was just that he knew Blair would enjoy looking at the sights of London too and he'd miss hearing her views.

"We're nearly there, you know." He said in an attempt to get her attention away from her notes.

"Just let me finish reading about Michael Rostic." She muttered.

"Fine, but move your head so I can see Hyde Park out of the window; let one of us appreciate the view."

Her eyes flashed angrily in his direction. "I do appreciate where we are Humphrey but I need to make sure I know everything about this week so I don't look like some ignorant outsider!" Her outburst being said she altered her position so that she was blocking the window as much as possible. And, despite her petite frame, she was doing a pretty good job of it. "Oh, isn't it beautiful!" she crooned, "Such lovely spring colours are starting to emerge."

He rolled his eyes. He knew she was making most of it up because she'd only be able to see snatches of the park between the built but he just bit his tongue and let her get on with her mockery (and if he forgot to mention that Harrods was outside of _his_ window then that was just because he was too tired from the journey).

He saw out of the windscreen that the buildings stopped, giving them both a larger view of the park. Blair continued to commentate rather sarcastically but she went silent as the car emerged onto Hyde Park Corner. Dan allowed himself a wry grin. Apparently Blair couldn't let herself be dismissive of the beautiful white arches of the entrance to Hyde Park. She turned her body around to the front, her eyes flickering from window to window trying to take everything in.

"Where…?" She asked breathlessly.

"Hyde Park Corner. I guess that's Wellington Arch over there." He pointed across the traffic to another tall white arch with some sort of statue on top. He was very glad that he'd read up on their route in his guide so he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

Blair shrugged daintily. "The Arc de Triomphe is better."

Dan laughed. "I suppose I shall have to bow down to your superior wisdom there seeing as I haven't been to Paris."

"But I suppose it's unfair of me to judge this arch against the Triomphe seeing as that's one of the most famous monuments in all of Paris."

"Fancy a walk in Hyde Park later? Or one of the other parks? They've got about ten in London."

"We'll see. I think we've got a busy enough schedule as it is."

"We have?" Dan enquired but he was distracted by their turning down a new road. "Hey, guess where we are now?"

Blair gave him a slightly bemused look. "London."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, but what do you think is on the other side of that wall?" He pointed out of her window at a high brick wall.

"I don't know, another park?" She guessed weakly.

"Sort of." He grinned but stopped when her expression showed that she wasn't particularly thrilled by his game. "It's the Queen's back yard."

Blair turned back to her window and tried to make herself taller but there was no way she was going to see over the wall. She 'humph'ed and looked back at him with a frown. "Well, thank you for that pointless piece of information – I can't see a thing from here!"

"Er, that's kind of the point of a wall, Blair; you know, to give people a bit of privacy."

She gave him a scathing look and put her fashion notes away. "I take it we're nearly there then seeing as our accommodation is so close to Buckingham Palace."

Dan nodded both amused and annoyed with himself for irritating Blair. The banter had always been part of their relationship and it was a lot more friendly now than it used to be (or they could take the insults better now that they were…'friends'.) Given the events of the last couple of days he was unsure whether he should try and stop himself from annoying her or not. He knew that he never want far enough to actually upset her and he hoped that he would never cross that line but the development of his feelings towards Blair made him wonder if he should only try and please her and make her happy. But was that even what she would want if they were forever to be stuck in the 'friends' zone let alone if they entered into a proper relationship?

He rubbed his fingers across his forehead. He was too tired to think about this now.

The car pulled over and came to a stop outside a beautiful terraced house that somehow still managed to have stone pillars along the front.

"Wow." Dan said peering out of Blair's window at the three storey building with its large rectangular windows and small black railing.

The driver opened Blair's car door and Dan followed her out onto the sidewalk. "Here is your set of keys Miss Waldorf," the driver said before retrieving their luggage from the trunk.

Blair walked crisply forward, her heels clicking on the concrete. She turned the key and opened the door. Dan followed eagerly; keen to see what Eleanor Waldorf had managed to procure for her stay in Britain's capital.

You would think that being acquainted with life on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for the last three and a half years Dan would be used to the splendour that came with being ridiculously wealthy but he doubted he'd ever get used to seeing places as beautiful as the one he was standing in.

The décor was both traditional and modern, elaborate and simple. There was beautiful antique furniture and the latest technology connected throughout the house as well. He and Blair walked up to the next floor to find Eleanor's room, a drawing room and impressive library with floor to ceiling bookshelves. On the third floor were two more bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom. Dan sat down on his bed and would've quite happily gone to sleep on what felt like a cross between a marshmallow (without the stickiness) and a fluffy cloud (without the whole water thing).

Blair, however, had other plans and she dragged him back down to the kitchen where a bottle of champagne was waiting in a bucket of ice. A small card showed Eleanor's loopy handwriting, proclaiming, 'Welcome to London, girls.'

"Er, 'girls'?" Dan said with a raised eyebrow but accepting a champagne flute nonetheless. "You did tell your mother I was coming didn't you?"

Blair shot him a borderline apologetic grin. "Well, even if I had mentioned it I doubt she would've remembered. She's been far too busy getting things ready for her show. I'm sure she won't mind her former cater-waiter making an appearance in London."

"Blair…"

"Oh, shush, Humphrey and open the champagne." She instructed and Dan obediently obeyed, filling their glasses with the bubbling alcohol.

Dan held his glass aloft. "London ba – " he began but halted seeing the disapproving look on Blair's face.

"To our week in London." She announced with a dazzling smile and Dan shook his head slightly.

"Our week in London," he agreed and gently tapped his glass to hers.

* * *

A/N Yay, we're finally in London, Baby! I'm pretty sure that's been stolen from FRIENDS but, never mind.

Hope you liked! Please let me know what you thought.

Until next time!

Love,

Lil Drop of Magic

xXx


	6. First Impressions

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gossip Girl world.

A/N Thank you very muchly for your reviews, alerts and favourites. It is most appreciated. Here is a belated Christmas/early New Years present for you all. I hope you've been enjoying the festive season.

* * *

Chapter Six – First Impressions

"You know, if we went back to see your mother again I don't think she would remember that I'm here instead of Serena." Dan commented as he held open the door of the coffee store so they could step back into the chilly spring air.

Blair sighed. It was true that her mother had seemed a little out of sorts during their brief visit but that was understandable. "She's always rather distracted in the days leading up to a show. Not to mention that this is the first time she's taken part in one of the London events; she wants to make a good impression."

Dan shrugged. "As long as she doesn't try to murder me because she thinks I'm an imposter in her rented home, I don't mind being forgotten."

"Well, you've had years of experience," Blair assured him and he laughed. His smiles were always so infectious and she was unsurprised when she felt her lips twitch upwards too.

"So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" Dan asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well, as you know, Mother has asked some other designer's daughter to show us around London. Her name's Amelia Freshwater and we're to meet her for dinner this evening." Dan could obviously hear the petulance in her voice because his forehead creased slightly.

"Have you met her before?"

"A couple of times but I haven't seen her in years – not since the peanut butter incident." She glanced over and could see the confusion on his face.

"I never thought you'd be involved in some sort of an 'incident' with peanut butter of all foodstuffs."

Blair sniffed. "Quite. Peanut butter is for those who can't afford to employ someone to cook for them."

"Which is about ninety-nine per cent of everyone in the world." Dan pointed out.

"But not me." Blair retorted and then stopped walking as she and Humphrey reached the junction of another road. She looked around in confusion. Where on earth were they? London was rather confusing.

"So, going back to my earlier question. What are we doing now?" Dan wondered looking left and right at all the buildings and shops along the current stretch of the rather fabulously named Buckingham Palace Road.

"We are going shopping." Blair announced and she could tell that Dan was less than pleased by this announcement although he tried hard not to show it.

"Didn't you bring enough clothes with you from New York?" he asked, somewhat aghast.

"We're not shopping for me, we're going for you." Blair explained as she took the plunge and just decided to step across the road and hopefully end up in the right place.

"What's wrong with my – " Dan began but she raised an eyebrow in his direction and he paused, sighing. "I have clothes, Blair."

"Yes, I can see you're not naked, Humphrey, but your definition of clothes is very different to mine. There's no way I'm meeting Amelia tonight with someone who looks like their clothes would be rejected by the homeless."

Dan shook his head slightly. "So, what you're just going to dress me like some ridiculous oversized doll?"

"Only for a couple of outfits," Blair reasoned. "First impressions are very important, Humphrey. I don't want Amelia to judge me just because my friend has little fashion sense."

Dan sighed, again. "So where's fashionable to shop in London?"

Blair grinned and took his arm. "Well, I read that the royal-to-be likes to shop on the King's Road in Chelsea and I'm sure that anything that's good enough for Kate Middleton is beyond good enough for Dan Humphrey. I'm just not sure where it is…or how to get there…or where _we_ are, to be honest!"

After much stumbling around London, another cup of coffee and a quick lunch Dan found himself standing in the middle of a store with Blair holding up a steady succession of shirts against his chest.

Blair scrunched up her face at the current pale blue shirt and put it aside, trying a grey one instead. Dan yawned.

"I told you to get more sleep on the plane." Blair commented lightly, holding up a bottle green jacket instead.

"I'm sure even if I'd slept solidly for the last twenty hours of my life I would still be yawning," he replied dully. "Blair, this is the most boring afternoon of my life. I'm in London, I want to go see something interesting - not be a life-size Ken."

"The Saatchi Gallery is somewhere on King's Road. When we're finished here we can go visit if you like." Blair suggested, putting a pair of pants in the 'maybe' pile.

Dan looked relieved. "Oh, God, yes."

Blair smiled, unsure whether Dan was genuinely enthusiastic about going to the Saatchi Gallery or if he wanted their shopping expedition to be over. She honestly didn't mind too much about the clothes that Dan wore – they were a part of what made him who he was but there was nothing wrong with adding a few designer labels to his wardrobe. Besides, she knew that he understood that how she was perceived by others was very important to her. They hadn't gone into too much detail on the matter but she just _knew_ that she was safe from his scrutiny. They had come to accept each other for who they were.

If only the rest of the world were ready for that to be brought to their attention.

* * *

Blair didn't bother to hide her smirk as she spotted Dan checking himself out in the mirror in the hallway. She couldn't blame him; he did look extremely handsome in the clothes she had picked out for him. "You're welcome," she gloated, gently pushing him away from his reflection so that she could check out her own.

"Wow, Blair, you look beautiful." She heard him say softly and her heart fluttered. Blair was used to being called ravishing or some other sexual adjective by Chuck but being called beautiful was less frequent for her than you might think.

"Thank you, Humphrey. I think New York is being well represented by us tonight." She declared.

"Well, with you present how could it not be?" Dan replied. Blair swatted him with her purse for his over the top statement but it still made her chest feel ridiculously light. "So is there going to be anyone else there apart from this Amelia girl?"

Blair tucked a curl behind her ear. "I'm not sure – I expect there'll be others, I know that I wouldn't go to something like this alone. I think she has siblings so one of them might be there too. I'm really not that interested Humphrey. I'm only going because Mother organised it for me." She opened the front door and Dan followed her to the waiting car. "The sooner this is over, the better. It's not as though we'll need her help getting around London or finding places to go. I know it took us a while to find King's Road but this is only our first day and we'll be based mostly at Somerset House anyway, seeing as that's where Fashion Week is being held."

"But she might know parts of London that we wouldn't normally visit – we should ask her if there's anywhere she'd recommend." He suggested as the lights of London (less impressive than New York, Blair couldn't help but feel,) flashed past. "Maybe we could do a day out of London; go to Oxford or Cambridge, you know. See if we'd want to do a year abroad there."

Blair raised an eyebrow. "Miss a whole day of the catwalks? I don't think so, Humphrey. The fashion is the reason that I, and therefore _you_ are here, remember?"

"True, but you can't possibly attend every catwalk session so maybe you should pick a day where you are less interested in the designers and make the most of being in this country." Dan argued.

"But I can come to London practically whenever I want to and see those things. London Fashion week only happens twice a year." She pointed out.

"Well, let's just take each day as it comes – you might start to get a bit bored of the fashion thing by the end of the week." Dan tried to be diplomatic.

Blair laughed. "I doubt that your hope is going to come into fruition, Humphrey."

Silence reigned until the car came to a stop outside the restaurant. Blair resisted the urge to worry her lip – she didn't want to compromise her flawless makeup. She hoped that Dan wasn't upset with her frankness; she had come to fashion week to support her mother and experience the event. True, she didn't attend every day of New York's fashion week but that was because she normally had other things to get on with and that just wasn't the case here.

Her car door was opened and Dan was suddenly there to give her a hand onto the sidewalk. "Thank you Humphrey," she muttered as she checked that her dress had survived the journey without any major creases or crumples. "Let's just get this over with."

"Sure." He replied, manoeuvring their hands so that her arm was linked through his. "Not that I don't appreciate your efforts to find me some nice clothes to wear, even if it was purely for your own benefit, but I really just want to sleep right now. And, yes, I know, you told me so." Blair grinned.

They emerged into the glamorous restaurant, the Maître D' immediately greeting them and enquiring how he could be of assistance that evening.

"We're here to meet Amelia Freshwater," Blair told him and he nodded.

"If you'd like to follow me," he instructed and turned smartly to take a route through the tables. Blair and Dan followed somewhat reluctantly.

At a table a few feet away Blair noticed a group of people similar in age to herself and Dan. Among the faces she recognised Amelia who stood to greet them.

"Blair! How wonderful to have you with us." Amelia said, walking forwards to kiss Blair on both cheeks. "And I'm guessing your name isn't Serena?" She asked turning towards Dan who laughed.

"Ah, no. There's been a change of plan. I'm Dan, Dan Humphrey." He extended his hand but Amelia ignored it and kissed Dan's cheeks too. Blair tried not to laugh at his awkward attempt to pretend that this form of greeting was nothing new to him.

"It's lovely to meet you, Dan. Come and sit down so I can introduce you to everyone else."

Blair resisted the urge to frown; by the way Amelia had phrased that last sentence it sounded as though she was only interested in introducing Dan to her friends and not her too. But surely it was just a slip of the tongue and even if it wasn't then once the others at the table realised that Dan was a nobody from Brooklyn and she was the daughter of a designer, their attention would rightly be on her.

"Everybody, this is Dan. Dan, this is Naomi, Theo, Henry, Sienna, Angus, Annie, Chloe, Hattie and Victoria." Dan gave an awkward wave. "Oh, and this is Blair." Amelia added as though it was completely irrelevant. Blair bridled at that and opened her mouth to respond but Dan practically pushed her into her seat.

"Don't make it worse than it obviously already is," Dan whispered to her and she angrily grabbed a menu in response.

Perhaps it was time to take revenge for that peanut butter incident.

* * *

A/N Thank you for reading!

Reviews are very much appreciated.

Love,

Lil Drop of Magic

xXxXx


	7. How Not To Make Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gossip Girl world.

A/N Hi guys! So it's been a little while. Thank you for the reviews! This chapter does make me a little anxious because of all the OCs but, well, it was quite fun to write. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Seven – How Not To Make Friends

"So, Dan, are you from New York too?" one of the girls, Hattie or maybe it was Annie, asked. There were so many new names and faces and they all looked very similar in that rich, well-bred, good-looking way that socialites did.

He nodded. "Yeah –"

"He's from Brooklyn!" Blair inputted quickly and a few eyebrows were raised around the table but whether that was due to where in New York he lived or Blair's abrupt declaration, Dan wasn't sure.

Noticing the awkward silence that followed, Blair hid behind her menu once more. Dan rolled his eyes. He should've known this evening was going to be much worse than he'd first thought but he'd totally forgotten that Blair was completely inept at making friends. The fact that there seemed to be some bad blood between Blair and Amelia didn't make things easier, of course, but most people would try to brush that aside and manage to find someone else to have a conversation with. The problem was that Blair didn't know how to have a conversation with many people her own age that had both people on an equal footing. She could talk to minions and boss people about – that was second nature to her, but recalling her failed attempt to get along with the people at NYU, Dan knew they were going to be in for a long night.

"We visited Brooklyn when we were last in New York," one of the guys said. He was holding hands with a girl next to him so Dan assumed that they were an item.

"Oh, really? Where did you go?" Dan asked, glad that the conversation had started up again.

"We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge." Dan saw Blair make a face behind her menu and he could just imagine that she was wondering why someone would want to _walk_ the Brooklyn Bridge.

"And then we went to this _amazing_ chocolate shop," his apparent girlfriend continued. "And I'm not lying, they did the best hot chocolate _ever_; better than _Angelina's_ in Paris."

"You mean Jacques Torres Chocolate?" Dan enquired. The couple nodded. "Yeah, that place is pretty good."

"They have a store in Rockefeller Plaza too," Blair commented, in a snarky voice and Dan refrained from rolling his eyes at her apparent wish for self-destruction.

"The views from Brooklyn were pretty immense," the guy carried on, ignoring Blair's contribution.

"So you and Sienna saw some twinkling lights across the river, Henry, big whoop. Personally I'd rather be where the action is happening." A girl with shoulder length black hair said. "Please tell me you make the most of being a few miles away from where everyone else wants to be." She asked Dan.

"Well, I'm in Manhattan practically every day. I go to NYU and my Dad lives in the Upper East Side with his wife."

"But she's not your mum?" The same girl asked.

"Err,"

"Lay off him, Vicki," Amelia said. "He doesn't want to share his life story with you."

Vicki held up her hands defensively before taking a large sip from a glass of wine.

"No, it's all right." Dan said. "My family life is just a little bit complicated that's all."

"Whose isn't?" A girl who Dan was pretty sure was called Naomi said.

"My parents got divorced when I was three," Vicki said.

"My older sister had an affair with our gardener."

"Daddy had to go to rehab for taking amphetamines."

"Mother was prosecuted for shop lifting."

"Blair's Dad abandoned her mother for a male model." Amelia said.

There was a beat of silence before Blair slammed her menu down on her plate, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Are you ready to place your orders?" Their waiter asked, mercifully appearing out of nowhere.

"Oh, God, yes." Dan breathed. "I'll have the lamb."

As the waiter took down everyone else's choices Dan leant towards Blair and gently squeezed her hand. "Don't let her get to you, Blair. Just one meal and then we don't have to see her ever again."

Her body was still very tense but her breathing began to slow as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over the reverse of her hand. She let the waiter take her order and then moved her hand away.

"Er, I've slept with my stepsister," Dan informed them all, hoping that Blair's earlier discomfort would be forgotten after his admission.

"Okay, we have a winner," Vicki said, looking impressed. "Your family situation is the most messed up."

It took a few minutes for Dan to explain that he and Serena hadn't known their parents even _knew_ each other when they first started going out a few years ago, let alone that they would end up married.

"And this Serena is the girl who was supposed to be coming with Blair?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah, she's Blair's best friend. Another family issue cropped up and that's why I'm here instead." Dan explained, feeling slightly guilty again that he had abandoned his family.

"You've come to London with your ex-girlfriend's best friend?" Angus asked with an eyebrow raised (Dan was beginning to get the hang of everyone's name now.).

"We're just friends," Dan and Blair quickly said at the exact same moment.

"Barely friends, even." Dan added and the rest of the table laughed and shared looks.

"And now things have gotten interesting," Annie announced.

"Your ex-girlfriend's best friend," Theo slowly said, nodding. He raised his hand, expecting Dan to meet it with his own but Dan shook his head.

"It's really not like that." Dan insisted. "We…our friends…we had to keep the fact that we were meeting up a secret from everyone."

"They're bloody well doing it!" Chloe gasped.

Blair sent both him and Chloe a scathing look and Dan couldn't deny that he'd probably made things worse with his hopeless explanation.

"We certainly are _not_ 'doing it'." Blair snapped.

"Then why were you meeting up in secret?" Annie asked. "That sounds like a blatant cover for sex to me."

"We were going to the cinema and art exhibitions. We just happen to have similar tastes in some areas. The reason that we kept it a secret was because our friends would think it strange – we haven't really gotten along with each other in the past. Dan's not exactly the type of person I would be interested in." Dan ignored the slight pang in his chest that he felt at her words. It was strange that the topic that had finally gotten Blair to talk to the other people at the table was her relationship or 'non-relationship' with him. She was still sounding slightly condescending, in the way that she normally talked to minions, but at least she wasn't hiding.

"What's wrong with him?" Sienna asked. Dan felt everybody looking at him as though expecting to see some flaw that would make him un-dateable.

"I…we…he's from Brooklyn." Blair eventually said and there were plenty of disbelieving expressions.

"That's your excuse?" Henry asked. "That's why you wouldn't date him?"

"I really don't get along with his sister either, and as has been already mentioned he was seriously involved with my best friend. She wouldn't be very pleased if we got together."

"The reasons you've listed are all by association – where he lives, his ex, his sister. They're surely nothing to do with who Dan is as a person."

Dan saw Blair swallow nervously. This conversation was making him very uncomfortable too but he couldn't find the voice to stop it.

"No…but, you don't understand how it is in New York." Blair explained. "I'm practically royalty there and I can hardly be expected to date a commoner like Dan."

"You think royalty doesn't marry outside the aristocracy?" Hattie asked. She had been silent until this point and Dan had a feeling that she was Amelia's younger sister as they looked very similar. "Kate Middleton is a commoner. I'm sure what's good enough for the second-in-line to the throne of our country is good enough for you."

She hadn't said it in a cruel way like Amelia or one of the other girls would have done but Blair still looked like someone had slapped her. Dan thought it was probably best that he speak up before someone found ridiculously expensive red wine thrown over their designer dress.

"As much as I love people talking about me as though I'm not here, I think we should just drop the conversation. As well intentioned as I'm sure your meddling is, Blair and I will determine our future."

If he was expecting the other faces at the table to look sheepish or guilty then he was seriously mistaken. Amelia and her friends were obviously used to meddling in other peoples' lives.

Once again, they were saved most of the following awkwardness due to the arrival of their food.

"So where do you two plan on visiting while you're here?" Henry asked after they had all been served and most of them were more concerned with tucking into their food. "Have you ever been to London before?"

"Well, I've never been," Dan admitted, "but I think you have, haven't you?" He looked towards Blair, willing her to make a positive contribution to the conversation for once.

"I've visited a couple of times but they were both a long while ago." She said simply and Dan let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

"We're going to be attending Fashion Week, of course, but I'd like to see a lot more if I can. Is there anywhere you'd recommend?" He asked of the group. He hoped they'd come up with some brilliant suggestions that would tempt Blair away from Somerset House. He didn't particularly want to explore London on his own but if Blair insisted on watching nothing but models walking up and down a platform then he would have to – for his sanity's sake.

Suggestions flowed from the table from sporting venues, shopping boutiques, theatres, landmarks and restaurants.

"You know, if you want a thrill you should go to one of the theme parks – they've got some pretty amazing rides." Dan was surprised that this suggestion came from the very quiet Hattie. He wasn't the biggest fan of rollercoasters and other rides but he expected that Blair was even less of a fan. He couldn't quite picture her mingling with the public and sitting on some sort of thrill-seeking ride in her designer clothes…

"Yeah, I'd go for Thorpe Park but I'd try and arrange a VIP visit if you can to avoid the queues." Henry added.

"I'll keep that in mind," Dan said politely and he tried to ignore Blair's glare which plainly said, 'Over my dead body, Humphrey.' He finished his glass of wine and jumped as it was immediately filled by a passing waiter. He had only had one glass of wine and he was normally quite tolerant when it came to alcohol but he could already feel the effects of the wine quite heavily. Either this was a very strong wine or his lack of sleep was seriously affecting him.

He noticed Blair leave the table and he wondered whether he should follow her to give her some words of encouragement but Amelia started speaking to him so he somewhat reluctantly turned his attention towards her instead.

"You know if you fancy escaping the fashion show I'll be more than willing to give you a personal tour of London."

"Er," Dan tried to find a polite way of letting Amelia down. He doubted Blair would be particularly pleased if he decided to hang out with someone she clearly hated.

"I've lived here pretty much whole life and I'm studying History at UCL so I'm an excellent tour guide. Oh, and Chloe's studying Art History at Oxford so if you go to one of the galleries she is definitely the one you want to show you around. Give me your phone and I'll put our numbers in." Amelia held out her hand and Dan briefly considered turning her down but he realised that he'd rather go around London with a near enough stranger than be alone. It couldn't hurt to get a couple of numbers in case he got desperate for some interaction that wasn't solely about what had been seen at the fashion show.

"Okay, sure, thanks." He agreed, fishing his phone out his pocket. "I really should make the most of being here. Fashion isn't really on my list of priorities to be honest." Amelia smiled and Dan wondered if he'd judged her too quickly. Sure, there was some obvious bad blood between herself and Blair but Blair barely got along with anyone and if there _had_ been this 'peanut butter' incident then he was pretty sure that Blair would've done something to warrant some retribution.

It was only as he realised that he'd been talking to Chloe for about ten minutes about the exhibits at the Saatchi Gallery that he became aware that Blair had been absent from the table for quite a while. He was just about to leave the table to come looking for her when she appeared, walking with her head held high and a slight glint in her eye. Dan looked at her suspiciously.

"What?" She asked innocently, noticing his expression. Dan sighed.

"Nothing," he muttered, although he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen that he wouldn't like or approve of.

Dessert was followed by champagne as the group toasted his and Blair's arrival in London. The gestured seemed somewhat half-hearted but by this point Dan's head was so clouded he honestly didn't care. He just needed the room to stop spinning so that he could get some much needed rest.

The meal finally finished and everyone moved to where the coats were hanging up. Blair seemed to have noticed that he was feeling slightly inebriated because she was gripping his arm tightly and with her support he was able to manoeuver through the other tables without embarrassing himself. He helped Blair into her coat, donned his own and was busy exchanging farewells with Angus, Henry and Theo when there came a sharp squeal from behind him. He turned quickly, a little too quickly because he stumbled slightly and he had to blink a few times to make sure that he was actually seeing what he seemed to be.

Amelia was holding her hands out in front of her and they were coated in peanut butter. It took Dan's eyes and brain a few seconds to notice the peanut butter that was seeping out of the pockets of Amelia's coat. It was like there was a massive delay between real life and what his eyes were seeing because it seemed to him that Amelia was sending a furious look towards Blair and then he was aware of someone's lips on his own. Confused as to what this meant, it took Dan a few seconds to realise that in no logical sense could those be Blair's lips trying to eat his own so he stumbled backwards to break away from, as it turned out, Amelia.

Dan looked at Blair for a reaction but she sent the pair of them a glare so cold that it actually sent a shiver down his spine. Dan cocked his head to one side as the feeling down his spine continued.

"Uh, Dan, you've got peanut butter, sort of…everywhere." Naomi said, sympathetically.

Dan shivered again as what was undoubtedly peanut butter inched a tiny bit further down his back.

* * *

A/N Hope that you liked it.

I think the reason that there was a bit of a break on this story is that I was comparing it too much to what's really happening on Gossip Girl and I doubted myself. Now, obviously things between my Dan and Blair and what we've seen since 4x17 are very different because TV DandB have been through an awful lot and come so far. So, I've had to bear that in mind while writing this. Does that even make sense?

Ah, well, spring hiatus is very nearly over so let's enjoy what comes next!

Please let me know what you thought of the chapter.

Love,

Lil Drop of Magic

xXx


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